A BRIEF DISCUSSION OF WIRING OPTIONS - Deaf Eddie

SPECFICALLY HUMBUCKERS (and P90s):As for HUMBUCKERS, most modern/aftermarket FOUR-CONDUCTOR wired pickupsalso have a FIFTH conductor, which is typically a bare wire included inside the jacketedlead that will be the ground/shield connection to the chassis of the pup, and is completelyindependent and insulated from any leads from the coils. No worries, if this is the case.Where you run into the problem on humbuckers (and P90s) is if they are constructedusing a coaxial two-conductor lead with a braided/external shield, like the traditionalGibsons are made. The external braided conductor is typically soldered to the pup's metalchassis, and used as the ground/shield AND the coil's negative lead - yikes! Now youhave a pickup where not only the metal chassis, cover, and screws, but also the entirelength of the exposed braid on the lead has continuity with the ground of the guitar!These require some special treatment to do series and phase mods with.If you have an open-coil humbucker (no cover) or a P90, a simple trick is running alength of heat-shrink tubing over the entire length of the lead. This quick and dirtycompromise works, but the mounting screws and pole pieces are still "hot." It's less thanideal, but you CAN learn to live with it.However, this band-aid is even farther from ideal if your pickup has a metal cover. Now,you COULD, if you were an adventurous sort, remove the metal cover, go in andunsolder the coil's negative lead at the point where it is soldered to the pup's chassis andthe braided shield, and solder up a new negative lead for the coil (leaving the braidedshield soldered to the chassis as the ground conductor). That would certainly address allthe issues, but it's a long way to go and can be hazardous to the pickup and your wallet. Itis my strong recommendation that you should instead just shelf that old pickup intact,spend the bucks and get yerself a four-conductor pup to replace it.